It has been long known that the scale (primarily calcium carbonate) deposited in water-carrying pipes can be avoided or even removed by applying magnetic fields to the flowing water. U.S. Pat. No. 4,428,837 by Kronenberg describes various prior art approaches. Most approaches have required the installation of a special pipe section in a residential, commercial, or industrial water line, as to provide a helical path for the water or to provide magnets to lie within the water stream. Because of the considerable cost in cutting away a section of water pipe to install a treatment apparatus, potential customers have been reluctant to try such water treatment apparatus.
There have been proposals for water treatment apparatus, which involve magnets lying around an existing water pipe. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,210,535 by Risk, 4,265,754 by Menold, and 4,265,755 by Zimmerman describe water treatment devices that can be installed on existing pipe lines without cutting away any pipe section. The Risk patent uses two magnets spaced along the length of the pipe, with both lying on the same side of the pipe. The Menold and Zimmerman patents use three magnets uniformly spaced along the length of the pipe, with soft iron joining the poles of adjacent magnets. In practice, such arrangements are only partially effective, and only under certain circumstances. Previously, the primary measurement of effectiveness was the degree of scale accumulation or removal, which could take several days before any effect was noticeable. It was difficult to determine whether and to what extent the devices were successful in reducing scale accumulation or removal, or under what circumstances and to what extent they were effective. Actually, their effectiveness was limited.
Apparatus which could be easily installed on existing water lines and which was highly effective in treating water to reduce scale as well as to enhance the usefulness of water for washing and in other applications, would be of considerable value.